The Census and Voter Suppression: The 2020 Immigration Question

The first post in this series on the census covered “prison gerrymandering.” This post covers part of the controversial attempt to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census.

Background

From 1820 through to 1950, with an exception for 1840, the census contained a citizenship question. During this time period, the census collected data through in-person interviews. After 1950 the census transition to collecting data through a mailed questionnaire. A short-form questionnaire was mailed to most residences while the remaining residences received a long-form questionnaire. The long-form census questionnaire used in 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000 included a question about citizenship.… Read the rest